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Smartphone mounts

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  • March 14, 2014 at 9:03 am #20936
    parksey

    The next proposed purchase for me is going to be a mount so I can put my phone on the stem, primarily for navigation purposes.

    I’m currently using a Samsung Galaxy S2, but it’s upgrade time next month and I’m leaning heavily towards the Sony Xperia Z1/Z2, not least for its waterproof capabilities which will hopefully render a separate case redundant.

    The Quad Lock springs to mind, but typically their system is basically iPhone-specific and I don’t know if I want to glue the mount to the back of my phone as their universal solution suggests.

    As an alternative, I’ve read a couple of positive posts on here about the Finn, which appears to be a bargain solution by comparison. How robust is that, should I trust it for a brand new £500 handset?!

    Anything which seals the phone in a fairly unsightly bag, like the couple of Topeak cases, isn’t really what I’m after either.

    So, thoughts please. Who uses what and what do you recommend?

    Just to knock the inevitable on the head, I don’t really see the point in a standalone GPS unit when I would always carry a phone with me, and both the tech in modern phones and the quality of GPS apps available is on a par/if not better than a Garmin anyway.

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  • March 16, 2014 at 11:13 pm #780461
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    parksey

    Thanks for the input on
    Thanks for the input on this.

    That SportyPal (terrible name!) seems alright, just a shame it’s specific to the one model of phone.

    I’m thinking the Finn is perhaps the way forward, if it doesn’t work then it’s only a tenner ventured, no real harm done. Can’t work out if it’s possible to mount the phone in “portrait” orientation on the stem though, wanted to keep the bars free if possible.

    Failing which then I’ll opt for the Quad Lock, which seems to be a well-engineered solution. Realised that I can just buy a separate hard case for whichever phone I buy, then stick the universal mount to the case rather than the phone itself.

    March 14, 2014 at 12:52 pm #780459
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    armb

    I recently got a Finn, which
    I recently got a Finn, which I’m using with an Xperia Acro S – waterproof, but smaller screen than the Z1. I was quite nervous about stretching it even far enough for that to start with (review at http://road.cc/content/review/99482-bikecityguide-finn says much the same thing), but it does seem robust enough, and when you take one corner off the rest don’t ping off, so I’m guessing if it does eventually break one strap it won’t immediately be catastrophic.

    It is a little bit of a fiddle to put on and off, and make sure the strap doesn’t get in the way of buttons.

    I have considered getting something like http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/01/review-of-sportypal-sony-ericsson.html 3D printed, or http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Military-grade-Bicycle-Motorcycle-Bike-Mount-Holder-for-Sony-Xperia-acro-S-LT26w-/130869268288. Or even using the bike holder bit of the latter and making a less clunky handlebar mount. But the Finn’s doing the job for now – it’s not as if I actually need a bike computer/GPS or handlebar mounted phone.

    March 14, 2014 at 11:36 am #780457
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    allez neg

    I have a tigrasport
    I have a tigrasport bikeconsole. Its a bit of a lump but works ok, it was about £30 I think.

    Dunno if they do one for whatever phone you choose but I’m happy to trust my S4 to it offroad in the mud, and you can tilt it to the vertical to use the video camera too.

    March 14, 2014 at 11:25 am #780455
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    livestrongnick

    I had an S2 and used the
    I had an S2 and used the mounts from cyclewiz, never had any problems. Upgraded my phone to S4mini and bought a new silicone insert for my mount and still perfect. Approx £30-40

    http://cyclewiz.co.uk/

    March 14, 2014 at 10:25 am #780453
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    KiwiMike

    I’ve used the Finn on about
    I’ve used the Finn on about 300k of rides so far. It doesn’t move. You can use the screen/buttons without it flopping about.

    If I had a spare £50 I’d get a Quadlock purely for being a few seconds quicker – but I always find other stuff to buy. And yup, if Quadlock don’t make a case you need the stick-on mount back thingy. Which is fine with a waterproof phone.

    No solution is perfect.

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